Surviving the credit crunch

As the global economy collapses like a badly whipped soufflé, millions of people have lost jobs and livelihoods, meaning that, if it is not your own daily bread in jeopardy, many people are worrying about financial support for extended families, here in the UAE and abroad.

All of this pressure takes its toll, culminating in sleepless nights, anxiety, disappointment, guilt and more. If this sounds uncomfortably familiar, start taking steps to reduce stress and enhance wellbeing for yourself and your family.

Keep communicating

If you or your partner has lost their job or is feeling the pressure of the crunch, it is important to keep talking. Remember the old saying, “A problem shared is a problem halved.''

Whatever happens, by keeping the lines of communication open within your family, you can reduce the build up of stress on any one person and prevent barriers creeping up between you.

“All energies, positive or negative, spread to others through our thoughts,'' says Gwen Dietz, sensory therapist at Synergy Integrated Medical Centre (04-3485452). “It is especially true among members of the same family because the links are already strong. Keeping communication going is a must. To boost communication, all members of the family should be involved, even the little ones.''

Children are very perceptive and pick up on negative emotions in their home. As parents, it's important to try and protect your children from the anxiety and stresses related to job losses and financial worries by being open and honest with them.

“Don't try to pretend nothing is wrong,'' says Gwen. “It is better to express what is going on because subconsciously children know something is going on. Try to find a positive aspect to the situation for them to focus on and talk to them about it. They might be the ones who come up with great ideas. The aim should be to focus on the future and on how to improve the situation rather than spending too much time thinking about past.''

To get the words flowing, get everyone sitting together around the kitchen table with lots of small bits of paper. Tell everyone to write down anything they are worried about, one worry per piece of paper, fold them up and put them into a hat.

When everyone has finished writing all their concerns down, take it in turns to read them out and talk about them. Then, get everyone to write down at least one positive thing that has happened as a result of the changes, put them into the hat and read them out.

Make more effort during this stressful time to spend quality time together as a family, which can be as simple as just watching a DVD together or having dinner together every day.

Conserve and hibernate

In the same way that, during the cold winter months, animals hibernate and plants cut back their flowers and leaves to save energy and nutrients for summer, we should spend some time ‘hibernating' and reserving our life energy (Chi) and our pennies, says Dr Chen Qiang, Dubai-based doctor of Chinese medicine.

“The human body, nature, the environment, the financial economic system – everything needs a hibernation period to build up energy stores. Now we have spent all our economic energy and the economy has collapsed. Summer is over. It is the time for us to sit back, take stock of the situation and hibernate. Stop wasting so much life energy, and spending so much money, on going out and doing things. We can preserve our Chi and our money by using them wisely.''

Up your emotional energy

By keeping negative emotions out of the equation, we can make more focused, practical decisions. “In traditional Chinese medicine, we believe that stress-related emotions trigger several energy imbalances,'' says Dr Chen.

“For example, if you are feeling fearful, your energy drains out. Sadness will also deplete your energy. If you are worrying excessively, your energy is knotted up. By unblocking the emotions, using methods such as tai chi and acupuncture, we can restore a good energy flow and get back to good health.''

OK. So, then you will feel better, emotionally and physically. But how will this help you deal with financial stresses and job losses? “I had a patient a long time ago that was fed up with her family and her children and wanted to divorce them and leave,'' says Dr Chen.

“I knew the patient and her family well and knew that the problem was not with the family, it was just that she was suffering from irritability. So, I told her not to react as her emotions were unstable. I started treating her using a combination of acupressure, acupuncture and Chinese herbs. A week after treatment began, she was happy with her family again. In this way we can see that when a person is in an emotional state, they may react according to their emotions rather than to their real situation.''

By working through your negative emotions, you not only restore health and energy flow, but you can gain clarity over a situation and make better decisions.

Understand yourself

Another way of boosting your decision-making capabilities is by cultivating positive emotions through taking the time to understand yourself and your core values, according to Sister Jayanti, director of Raja Yoga Centers Europe and Middle East (04-3352604).

“Give time to yourself,'' says Sister Jayanti. “Spend time in silence to enhance your positive feelings, emotions and self-respect. Recognise your purpose in life and reaffirm your core values. Throughout the day, take some time to connect to your true self and in the night carry out an audit of your day, asking just three simple questions: Today, what could have I done differently? What did I learn? And what is my commitment tomorrow?''

Take action now

By shovelling the negative emotions out of the way, we can make space for positive thoughts and actions. In Chinese philosophy, the word crisis is represented by two symbols; the symbol for danger, and the symbol for opportunity.

Whether it's branching out on a new venture or finally doing something you have wanted to try for a while, these changing times may give you the impetus to make a positive change in your life.

“Initially, I was disappointed when I was told that I had to go part-time at my job as a marketing manager,'' says Daisy Reilly, a 28-year-old British professional living in Dubai. “But actually it has given me the opportunity to start writing seriously – something I have wanted to do for a long time.''

For others, losing a job might mean more time spent with the children or simply taking stock of life and finding out the things and the people that really matter.

Offer support

It's tough enough when you lose your own job, but it can be as difficult when your partner loses his job. Husbands and fathers that find themselves suddenly out of a job suffer from stress, anxiety and frustration, and despite the sexual equality movement, they often feel pressure as the ‘bread-winner' to provide.

Additionally, a study by The Nielsen Company suggests that women tend to find happiness in non-economic factors, such as spiritual beliefs, family and friends, making them better able to cope with recession. Gwen offers five ways that you can help your partner deal with his worries.

Stress-busting sessions